


We're Not Going Anywhere

by AngstyHxcker



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Family Drama, Hilda comforts Zelda, Season 3, Self-Harm, emotional hurt comfort, eventual hurt comfort, family fight, family hurt comfort, hurt comfort, spellman family life, tags to be updated as chapters go up, tw: domestic conflict, tw: self-harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22488673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstyHxcker/pseuds/AngstyHxcker
Summary: Zelda Spellman has always wanted to do what's best for her family. But what happens when what they think is best for themselves doesn't line up with her tightly defined beliefs? Sabrina confronts her aunt and it has unexpected consequences.Trigger warnings for chapter 2.
Relationships: Hilda Spellman & Sabrina Spellman, Hilda Spellman & Sabrina Spellman & Zelda Spellman, Hilda Spellman & Zelda Spellman, Sabrina Spellman & Zelda Spellman
Comments: 13
Kudos: 84





	1. The Fight

It was a normal morning at the Spellman home. Sabrina was eating her cereal, Zelda was smoking her breakfast cigarette while reading the paper, and Hilda was just joining her family at the table after bustling around the kitchen. Hilda was nervously smiling as she took her seat at the table. 

“So… I’ve been thinking about it for a while… but I finally did it!” She gushed, excitedly.

“Did what, Auntie?” Sabrina asked, smiling. Her aunt’s excitement was infectious.

“I signed up for a creative writing class at the community college!” Hilda beamed.

“That’s great!” Sabrina grinned.

Zelda folded her newspaper and set it on the table. “For Hell’s sake, Hilda. We are trying to reform the coven and you want to run off and take a mortal writing class?” She sighed before taking a puff of her cigarette.

The joy drained from Hilda’s face. “It’s just once a week on evenings…” She offered meekly, but the fight had already left her.

“You just can’t accept the fact that we have lives outside of this family can you?” Sabrina said abruptly. Hilda’s face filled with panic. Yet a small smirk pulled at Zelda’s lips, amused her niece would be naive enough to challenge her opinions. 

“I would love for you all to have lives outside of this family. But we are in a time of crisis. There is so much work we need to do to get the coven back together. We only just reopened the Academy. Ambrose and Prudence are still off trying to hunt down father Blackwood. And we have to redefine who we are as a coven and what we stand for now that we have locked away the Dark Lord. I would love for all of you to have lives beyond this, but if we want lives at all, we have to do all we can to build them from the ashes.” Satisfied with herself, Zelda sat back in her chair and took a puff of her cigarette.

Sabrina considered reminding her aunt that Lucifer wasn’t just confined, he was locked inside of her boyfriend who was trapped in Hell. But despite her annoyance, she decided to focus on the topic at hand. “It’s not just this. There’s always something you don’t want one of us to do. All my life whenever any of us want to go out on our own and do something for ourselves you just shame us for not being loyal to the family, or the coven, or you! I though families were supposed to support each other.” Sabrina fumed.

“Oh and I don’t support you? Who raised you? Gave you a place to live? Who feeds you? Who’s been there to pull you out of trouble every time you make a mess of things?” Zelda snapped. 

“Guys… please…” Hilda attempted. Neither witch could hear her over their own thoughts. 

“You only did all of those things because you wanted to hold them over me! You wanted to make me just like you! You still can’t stand that the moment I signed my name in the Book of the Beast I didn’t become a perfect witch like you. You can’t stand the fact that Aunt Hilda’s starting to do what she wants to with her life after trying to make her do everything you want for hundreds of years! But the truth under it all is that you are just terrified of being alone. You’re so scared that if you let us do what we want to with our lives that we’ll all leave you!” Years of hurt and resentment poured out of Sabrina in one sudden outburst. 

“That is enough.” Zelda said firmly, rising from the table before storming off.

“Sabrina, that was very harsh…” Hilda said, as sternly as she could manage. 

Sabrina deflated. Even though sometimes she butt heads with Zelda, Sabrina hated the thought of disappointing her aunts. 

“I just can’t stand it when she says stuff like that to you…” Sabrina knew she had no excuse for lashing out at Zelda, but she couldn’t help the need to try and defend her actions. And it was true. Sabrina loved how alive Hilda had seemed the more independence she gained. It hurt to think that her own sister couldn’t be happy for her in the same way her niece could. 

“I know, love.” Hilda softened. “But I’m a grown witch and she’s my sister. I can handle her.” She smiled sadly. They both knew Hilda often couldn’t handle Zelda. She’d spent most of her life being overpowered by her opinions. Even going as far as being killed by her every time she misspoke. Or even looked at her the wrong way if Zelda was in a bad enough mood. Now that she was starting to step out on her own, she was still learning to find her voice and strength against her sister.

“She does love you. And she is only trying to do what’s best for us.” Hilda concluded, unable to shake the sadness from her voice.

“I know…” Sabrina’s guilt was beginning to set in. 

“Tonight let’s have a talk, the three of us. Maybe you two can apologize to each other.” Hilda offered, hopefully. “I’m going to go check on her.” Hilda rose from her seat, gently touching Sabrina’s arm as a sign of affection as she passed.

Sabrina sighed and pushed back her bowl of cereal, her appetite was lost. She was conflicted. On one hand, she meant every word she said. On the other hand, she hated that it hurt her aunt’s feelings. But what had she thought would happen? She didn’t really expect anything would change. She sighed as Hilda vanished out of sight.


	2. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fight with Sabrina, Zelda retreats to handle her emotions the only way she knows how. Hilda goes in search of her sister and helps her learn she doesn't have to do it alone.
> 
> TW: Self-harm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Self-harm.

Hilda made her way up the stairs to the room she once shared with her sister. Given the fight that had just broken out, Hilda couldn’t help but be reminded of the tension that arose when she asked to move into her own room. Hilda knew Zelda was always acting out of love and a desire to be close to her family. For all of her strengths, Zelda Spellman struggled to maintain her relationships. She wasn’t the warmest person, mostly due to the fact that warmth and self-expression felt akin to weakness to Zelda. Yet, she wanted so desperately to love and be loved. Hilda knew her sister feared losing the rest of her family the way they lost Edward. But Zelda also feared the inevitable time when her personality could no longer be tolerated by the people she wanted near. 

Sabrina did have a point. They all needed some freedom and room to find their own happiness. And Hilda knew that Sabrina would never abandon her family. But it was going to take living through these changes for Zelda to believe it herself. It was unlike Sabrina to have an outburst like that. But it was also very much like Sabrina to speak her mind and defend people she cared about. Hilda assumed all of Sabrina’s recent stress and the absence of Nick pushed her from her usually polite self to the angry teen she had just shared breakfast with.

With a sigh, Hilda prepared herself for a verbal attack from her sister and gently pushed open the door. “Zelds?” She called gently as the door cracked open.

In the center of the room, Zelda Spellman was slumped on the floor. Her dress was tossed carelessly on the bed and she wore nothing but a skirt slip and a bra. Her back was facing the door and Hilda instantly noticed horrible red welts on her back. Before Hilda could react, Zelda moved, harshly bring down a whip onto the bare skin of her back with a loud crack. Zelda inhaled sharply at the impact.

“Zelda!” Hilda gasped, hurrying over to her sister.

“Go away.” Zelda’s tone was harsh and stern.

“Oh sister... what have you done?” Now that Hilda was closer, she could see the damage Zelda had inflicted on herself since her fight with Sabrina not even fifteen minutes ago. But she also saw more. Her back was covered in faint, white versions of the same mark. This wasn't new behavior. Her back must have borne these scars for years. 

“I SAID LEAVE!” Zelda screamed, bringing the whip down against her skin once more, uncaring that her sister saw.

Hilda knew there was a risk Zelda could hurt her, if even unintentionally. But she took it. Hilda closed the gap between herself and her sister. Moving slowly Hilda knelt before Zelda and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into an upright position.

“What are you doing?! ” Zelda howled in a horrible pained tone Hilda had never heard from her stoic, controlled sister before.

“GET OFF OF ME!” She screamed, trashing and fighting. Hilda held strong, pulling her even tighter into a hug.

“It’s okay, Zelda. You’re okay. I’m not going anywhere.” Hilda whispered in her sister's ear.

Zelda started screeching at the top of her lungs and beating her fists against Hilda’s back as hard as she could, desperate to get free of her grip.

“I’m not going to leave you. Sabrina isn’t going to leave you. Ambrose isn’t going to leave you. The coven isn’t going to leave you.” Hilda soothed, unfazed by her sister's blows. 

Zelda could be hurtful. Sometimes she was downright cruel. But in reality, she was just hurting. She was hurting and afraid. And for the first time in her very long life, Zelda Spellman was being seen with no defenses. Hilda’s words slipped through the same cracks Sabrina’s words had broken open earlier. But this time, they healed her. She’d never be able to forgive herself for such a vulgar display of emotion and weakness, but in this moment, she didn’t care. For hundreds of years, she’d been hurting. And now she was finally receiving comfort.

Zelda’s fists unclenched and she grabbed at Hilda desperately, trying to pull her impossibly close. Sobs wracked her body and all she could do was cry out her sister's name. “HILDA! Hilda...”

“Shhh. I’m right here, Zelda. I’ve always been right here and I always will be.” She rocked Zelda gently as she cried. Hilda still couldn’t forgive Sabrina for her disrespect and the pain she caused, but she knew that Zelda hadn’t beaten her back raw because of their niece. She hoped that maybe now Zelda would be able to tell Hilda how she really felt and that Hilda could do more for her than just bringing her tea when she knew she was upset or making sure the paper was ready for Zelda each morning.

From a crack in a doorway, Sabrina stood watching her aunts as she had never seen them before. In many ways, she felt like a child again. Sneaking around behind her aunt's backs, leaving through impossible spaces to catch fragments of conversations that were too adult to understand. Only this time, she understood. She understood too well. The weight of adulthood and her role in it came crashing down on her.

She wanted to burst through the door and fix everything. She wanted to apologize a hundred times. She wanted to cry. And she wanted her tears to signal an end to the conflict because it would be unfair of her aunts to let her go on hurting. 

But those were the thoughts of a child.

Now Sabrina knew that she had let Zelda go on hurting for years. She knew that she couldn’t apologize. Not fully. Because she did mean what she said. She just regretted the consequences that came from her words. She knew she couldn’t make this better because even though she felt like an adult, Zelda would never abandon her responsibility to keep Sabrina as far aware from the hard truths of the world as she could. So Sabrina backed away from the door. She pushed the screams that drew her here out of her mind. And she prayed to any God, demon, angel, or mortal that would listen that she could make things right when Zelda was ready to see her again.

Hilda and Zelda sat on the floor holding each other until Zelda had no more tears left to cry. She was always a leader, but she found she had no idea what came next. Should she just politely thank her sister, stand up, iron her dress and move on with the day? As much as she wanted to pretend she could just push this all aside and move forward as nothing happened she knew this crosses into new territory. She knew she couldn’t hide all of herself anymore. Not all of the time at least. Not from Hilda. 

And Hilda did what she always did best. She took care. Sensing her sister’s improvement, she gently pulled away. “I’m going to put some ointment on your back and then you’re going to lay done for a bit.” Her tone was kind and gentle. There was no command in her voice, nor did it make Zelda want to hide. She was relieved to have a directive and a few more hours to figure out how to go about facing Hilda after this point. 

Zelda sat in silence, staring at the rejected whip on the floor. She assumed it would be confiscated by Hilda. That would be okay, she thought. At least for now, she didn’t need it anymore.

Hilda remained silent as she tended to Zelda’s wounds. There was nothing that needed to be said. Not now.

Once her back was treated, Hilda helped Zelda change into pajamas and settle into bed. 

“Alright, do you need anything else?” Hilda asked.

“Can you tell me more about your writing class?” Zelda asked, mustering every ounce of strength she had left.

Despite her sympathy for her sister's pain, Hilda was suddenly reminded of her own.

“Are you sure you want to hear about that?” She asked skeptically.

“Yes, Hilda. I want to know what makes you happy.” Zelda replied softly and Hilda’s face lit up.

Hilda emerged from Zelda’s bedroom and began her descent down the stairs. Sabrina quickly sat down at the kitchen table with some schoolwork trying her best to seem like she hadn’t been waiting for her aunt to return.

“Oh, Sabrina! I thought you would’ve left by now.” Hilda remarked, surprised she hadn’t left for school.

“Yeah... I don’t have any important classes today until the afternoon and I just... I couldn’t leave without knowing if she was okay.” Sabrina confessed.

Hilda’s face softened into a sad smile. “She will be.”

Sabrina nodded. “Do you think it would be okay if I went up and saw her before I left?”

“I don’t know if now is the best time, love. She’s resting and...”

“Please, auntie! I just want to tell her I love her and I’m never going to leave her behind.” Sabrina said, mirroring the words she overheard through the crack in the door.

“Alright... I think she’d appreciate that.” Hilda smiled sadly and Sabrina ascended the stairs.


	3. The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabrina goes to apologize to Zelda after confronting her. Zelda is ready to accept their family is changing.

“Auntie Zee?” Sabrina called softly as she slipped through the door she had hidden behind earlier.

Zelda was laying in bed, her back to Sabrina. She made no reaction to Sabrina’s call, but Sabrina entered anyway. Zelda was awake, but she had no idea how to get back to normal after what had happened. Part of her wanted to spring up in bed and pretend nothing had happened. But the mere act of getting up felt like it would further call attention to the fact she had been laying down in the first place. So she stayed still and waited for the inevitable.

“Auntie Zee?” Sabrina repeated, approaching Zelda’s side of the bed. Zelda made no response but Sabrina could see she was awake with her eyes open. “I know you probably don’t want to see me right now… I just wanted to see you before I left for school….” Sabrina began awkwardly, her heart pounding in her chest. She had faced witches, demons, monsters, and the Dark Lord himself. But facing an upset Zelda Spellman was a whole new level. 

“I… I’m sorry I got mad.” She couldn’t disregard the truth in her words, but she was genuinely sorry for how she spoke and the fallout it caused. “I love you so much, even when I don’t show it. And I will never abandon you or our family. Even if I go out and do my own things sometimes, I will always come back home.”Zelda showed recognition of Sabrina for the first time. She moved her head ever so slightly and looked her niece in the eyes.

“Thank you, Sabrina.” Zelda’s voice sent a chill through Sabrina’s blood. She was usually sounded so firm and confident. But now, Zelda’s voice was hollow and soft.

Sabrina couldn’t stand it. She wanted to fix this. She wanted to make it okay. Part of her knew her intentions were selfish. She wanted Zelda to be okay because she felt terrible knowing that she caused her rock-solid aunt to seem so broken. Her eyes welled with tears. “I’m so sorry.” And now, she was. She felt like she’d rather have kept her mouth shut, let Aunt Zelda control their family, give up her freedom just to ensure she’d never have to see her aunt like this. 

“I don’t accept your apology.” Zelda’s face showed no emotion. Her voice was still flat and unfamiliar. Sabrina’s heart sank in her chest. This was it. She had finally gotten herself in a mess too big to get out of. She’d broken her family.

“I… I…” Sabrina stammered, desperate for anything to say to fix it.

“I don’t accept your apology because you were right.” Zelda’s tone took on a glimmer of her usual tone. Sabrina was shocked. “I suppose I should punish you for raising your voice to me. But you were right. I’ve been selfish for all these years because I’m terrified.” Zelda took a shaky sighing breath. “I’m scared that you, Hilda and Ambrose are going to follow the things you love in life… and I won’t be one of them.” Her face remained placid. She refused to breakdown again.

Sabrina softened, her fear and guilt melting into love. She sat down on the edge of her aunt’s bed, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You made this my home. You gave me a family when I lost mine. You’ve never turned your back on me. You’ve always taken care of me. I might get caught up in my own life sometimes, but you’re a really big, really important part of my life. I will always have time for you. I’ll always come back to you. You’re family.” Sabrina explained. 

Zelda closed her eyes in an effort to keep her composure. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes again. “Thank you, Sabrina. I will try to be… more understanding moving forward.” It was extremely difficult for her to admit her faults, but for the sake of her family, for the sake of keeping them close, she had to.

“I will be too. I… Growing up I always thought nothing could hurt you. I thought you were the strongest person I know.” Upon hearing this, Zelda’s heart dropped. She had failed her duty to Sabrina. “But after today, I know you can hurt. And you are absolutely the strongest person I know.”

Zelda was at a loss of what to say. She couldn’t bring herself to betray any more emotion. So she reached out and took Sabrina’s hand. Eventually, Sabrina moved from her seat and settled in bed beside her aunt like she did when she was a girl. Any thoughts of going to school were now abandoned. This was where she had to be today. 

“Auntie?” Sabrina asked hesitantly. She knew Zelda would be mortified to know what Sabrina had seen earlier. But Sabrina couldn’t help herself. “Earlier I heard screaming… So I came up stairs. I wasn’t trying to eves drop or anything I swear I just thought…” 

“It’s not your fault I do that.” Zelda’s voice remained emotionless. It was the only way she could handle discussing such vulnerable topics with her family.

“I know…” Sabrina confessed. No matter how much the day's events hurt her, she knew she couldn’t take full credit for the older witch’s pain. “I just… Please don’t do that anymore.”

“I don’t think I’ll need to.” Zelda confessed and they fell back into a comfortable silence. 

As the morning gave way to the afternoon, Hilda went upstairs to check on the two witches. She found them hand in hand, asleep in bed together. Hilda smiled gently and sat down on the edge of the bed. No matter how far their dreams may take them from each other, Hilda knew they would always end up back here together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and supporting me! I hope you've enjoyed this fic!
> 
> I'm open to prompts, but I warn you I may be selective and I *will* make it and angsty mess.  
> (I'd love to fill everyone's prompts, but writing is an outlet for my mental health and if I start to feel overwhelmed or like I'm doing it exclusively for others, it will lose that benefit. Thank you in advance for your understanding and angsty AF prompts.)

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of drama this chapter but some sisterly hurt comfort is coming your way in chapter two! 
> 
> This started as a one-shot, but it was so long I broke it up into chapters.
> 
> In the future would you all prefer massive one-shots, or fics broken up like this with a variation in chapter length? 


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